Reps speak on bribery over Rivers emergency rule

The House of Representatives has reacted to allegations of receiving financial inducement to endorse President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

The House said its members were not bribed with $5,000 each to approve the emergency rule in the South-south state.

Deputy Spokesman of the House, Philip Agbese, said this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Saturday.

Mr Agbese, who represents the Ado/Obadigbo/Opkokwu Federal Constituency of Benue State, did not, however, disclose who made the allegation against the lawmakers.

There are indications that he was veily reacting to an exclusive story last Thursday by Sahara Reporters that senators got between $5,000 and $10,000 each to approve the emergency rule in Rivers.

In the report, the newspaper said the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, a party to the Rivers political crisis, provided the money to bribe the lawmakers to ratify President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in the state.

The reports has been amplified by social media users.

However, Mr Akpabio had denied the allegation, describing it as falsehood and that it was orchestrated by people who intended to blackmail him and other senators.

Mr Wike has yet to speak on the allegation.

The House approved the emergency rule the same day as the Senate.

No financial inducement

Mr Agbese said the bribery allegations were attempts to spread misinformation to discredit the House.

He emphasised that the decision to support the emergency rule in the House was made in the interest of national stability and security.

“The allegation that members of the House of Representatives were induced with $5,000 to pass a resolution, is unfair to the Parliament. Very, very unfair to the Parliament. What we did on Thursday was to align ourselves with what I call the wisdom of King Solomon,” he said.

The deputy spokesperson urged critics to focus on the positive impact of the House’s decision rather than questioning the process.

“All insinuations that any individual was given money to give to members is nothing but lies from the pit of hell. The opposition should see the good things that we are doing day and night for the country.

“At no point did members of the House engage in any financial inducement in relation to the state of emergency declaration. The decision was taken after extensive deliberations on the security and political situation in Rivers State, in line with our constitutional responsibilities to safeguard national stability. Any suggestion that lawmakers were bribed is pure fiction, designed to serve the interests of those who seek to distort facts and create unnecessary tension in the country,” he said.

Approval stemmed from patriotism

Mr Agbese said the House acted out of patriotism in order to prevent a breakdown of law and order in Rivers State.

“We have seen some of the developments in River State. The government is not doing badly. But what we are saying is that, we don’t want the breakdown of institutions as far as River State is concerned.

“We deployed our wisdom as a Parliament, not to pander to sentiments or views expressed by groups outside. Yes, we are a people’s Parliament. We listen to the voices of Nigerians. Of course, there are people who say the state of emergency by Mr. President is wrong. There are those who also believe that it was done in the right manner to ensure that there is peace in that state.

“As a Parliament, our interest is to form a bridge, to ensure that our democracy continues to work. As a Parliament, our interest is to protect our democracy and democratic institutions. We resolved as a Parliament to make certain amendments to the proclamations made by Mr President.”

Tinubu not working against democracy

Mr Agbese dismissed concerns that President Tinubu’s decision undermines democracy, arguing that the president is a true democrat who is dedicated to protecting Nigeria’s institutions.

“We know Mr. President very well. He is a democrat. He has fought for the institutions of our democracy as far as Nigeria is concerned. And he is one man who would always want to protect this democracy. He is a President that we know as a Parliament.

“We have been relating with him as the president of the country for the past almost two years now. We have been relating with him as our president. We have seen his concerns. The 10th House of Representatives has seen the the genuine concerns and we believe and trust that if these issues are resolved in less than six months, Mr. President is going to put an end to the state of emergency in that state.”

House met quorum for decision

Addressing concerns about quorum, Mr Agbese clarified that the House met its constitutional requirement with 243 members present during the deliberations on emergency rule in Rivers.

He was, however, silent on why the lower chamber used voice votes for the proclamation despite a constitutional provision that mandates two-third majority votes by each chamber for such approval.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the two chambers of the National Assembly used voice votes to approve President Bola Tinubu’s State of Emergency in Rivers.

Section 305 (6b) of the Nigerian constitution mandates that a state of emergency in any part of Nigeria proclaimed by the president must be supported by “two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly.”

However, instead of conducting an official roll-call vote where each lawmaker’s stance is recorded, both chambers of the National Assembly adopted a voice vote, a method where lawmakers simply shout “aye” or “nay,” and the presiding officer subjectively determines which side has the majority.

When the motion for the emergency rule was put to a voice vote, no senator openly said “nay,” which led to its approval.

Despite the apparent consensus during the voice vote in the two chambers, some senators, namely Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West) and Ireti Kingibe (FCT) have spoken out against the process.